We were so close to the discussion point surrounding the New York Mets being a huge three-game road sweep over the Washington Nationals, which would’ve signaled significant progress to end a grueling first month of baseball.

And then they gave up 23 runs.

To make matters worse, it happened on a Sunday afternoon against the National East leading Nats, where Noah Syndergaard gave up five runs in 1.1 innings and left with what the Mets labeled as a “possible lat strain.”

This also came on the heels of having his Thursday start pushed to Sunday, and refusing to undergo an MRI, which led to general manager Sandy Alderson saying, “I can’t tie him down and throw him in the tube.”

“Certainly it was something we didn’t need to see,” Collins continued. “He was throwing 100, I saw nothing wrong.”

In what quickly became an awkward interview scrum, Collins was told, ‘you seemed pretty upset.’

“You think? What do you think?” he rhetorically asked in response to the simple observation.

Then early Monday, we learned that Syndergaard is headed to the 10-day disabled list with a partially torn lat muscle in his throwing arm.

To make matters worse, they did just lose 23-5 after recording back-to-back wins for the first time since their five-game winning streak from April 9-13, which already feels like it happened in an alternate universe.

All the good that was flowing throughout the orange and blue for two days is gone, all gone.

So now what?

After finishing 10-13 in April, 5.5 games behind the Nationals, who are 16-8, the Mets spring into May with an immeasurable amount of questions, which primarily stems from a collection of injuries.

At the start of the month, the Mets have Syndergaard, Yoenis Cespedes, Brandon Nimmo, Steven Matz, Seth Lugo, Wilmer Flores, Lucas Duda and David Wright out with injuries, and most of whom have unknown timetables as it pertains to their respective returns.

For the Mets, it’s not a matter of whether or not they’re good right now, although that has come into question for some. The utmost concern is the team’s health, which may not always reside at this unwelcoming low point, but when that aspect improves, will it be too late?

For now, May has become a crucial month for the Queens-based club, which includes this current four-game trip against an Atlanta Braves team that also ended April with a 10-13 record.

As the Mets continue to try and tread water while awaiting a mass entry in reinforcements, the “World Series or Bust” attitude once shared by many fans may become a distant memory if it hasn’t already.

It’s still too early to strenuously panic, but as the physical damages mount, one can’t help but think how quickly this season could get lost.